England flat owners are struggling to find buyers, with many properties staying on the market for more than six months despite repeated price cuts. Deals are also collapsing after months of negotiations, leaving both homeowners and small landlords facing falling valuations and difficulties securing buyers.Data from property website Zoopla shows that most leasehold flats listed for sale across much of England in 2025 had not sold within six months.London had the highest share of unsold flats at about 87%, followed by the south-east at 85% and the east of England at 84%. The average was 80.5%, according to Richard Donnell, Zoopla’s executive director.The gap between house and flat prices has also widened. Zoopla said average house prices across the UK rose 43% between 2016 and 2025, compared with just 10% for flats.It said “uncertainty around leasehold in England is affecting the pricing of flats versus houses” and was contributing to longer selling times.”Most flats listed for sale in England are leasehold, with concerns over service charges, ground rents, one-off bills, cladding, lease extensions and buying freeholds affecting the market. A ban on new leasehold properties in England and Wales is unlikely to take effect until after the next election.
Buyers and sellers want different prices
Donnell says leasehold concerns are not the only reason flats are struggling.“Flats take longer to find buyers because the natural buyer (the first-time buyer) and the natural seller (often an investor with no urgency to move) may want two different prices,” he told The Guardian.In London, flats are the main route into home ownership for many first-time buyers. But investor-owned properties are often priced beyond their budgets.“But investor-owned flats are being priced above the typical first-time buyer budget (£450,000 v a £425,000 budget). So even though flats are what buyers there want, the ones investors are selling are out of reach.”Mortgage lending is another hurdle. William Coe of mortgage broker Cleerly says tighter bank lending rules are shutting some buyers out, while surveyors are increasingly “down valuing” flats.
Price cuts fail to bring buyers
Susan Young, who bought a two-bedroom freehold flat in a Devon seaside resort for £300,000, has cut the asking price to £280,000. She spent £15,000-£20,000 renovating the property, which she describes as being in “immaculate condition” with “superb views”.Yet she has had just four viewings in nine months, The Guardian reported.“Despite not needing to buy (that is, no chain) and dropping the price to well under what I paid for it, I have only had four viewings in nine months,” says Young, a former teacher who moved in in 2023 but now needs to relocate for family reasons.She plans to withdraw the property if there are no viewings by the end of summer and try again next year.“It is very dispiriting.”Louisa, from London, has been trying to sell her leasehold flat for two and a half years. A recent deal collapsed for the third time after buyers sought another £10,000 reduction.She bought the one-bedroom property for £200,000, while the failed sale was agreed at £145,000. She says banks would not lend on the flat because it is above a barber shop.“I’m not buying again in the near future. I’m quite traumatised from the experience.”
Small landlords are stuck too
Barbara Doolan, who lives in Sussex, tried to sell her Croydon flat in 2024 after owning it for 20 years. She cut the price twice but eventually rented it out again.“I’ve considered selling again … and the market is even worse now. Three agents have said I’d need to drop the price by another £30k to get some interest as small flats like this just aren’t selling.”Angie West and her wife have also struggled to sell their London buy-to-let flat. Listed for £325,000 in late 2024, it had its price reduced several times before two buyers pulled out. They then decided to rent it again.“What concerns me most is that the combination of falling flat values, repeated failed sales, leasehold costs, licensing requirements and increasing complexity in the rental sector has left ordinary small landlords like us trapped,” West says.“The whole process feels incredibly insecure. Buyers can pull out at any stage for almost any reason, with no financial consequence to them, while sellers are left paying legal fees, management pack costs and other expenses.”
